


A Harsh World

by lorir_writes



Category: Platinum (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:47:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27959396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lorir_writes/pseuds/lorir_writes
Summary: Raleigh helps Tiffani face the hardships of the music industry
Relationships: Raleigh Carrera/Main Character (Platinum)
Kudos: 1





	A Harsh World

**Author's Note:**

> Submission to Tumblr Choices August Challenge 2019: Day Thirty One - Lessons

Raleigh walked down the halls of the studio and opened the door to the room Tiffani was in. From the door, his eyes darted to the vocal booth, where she stood next to the microphone, but instead of singing, she was looking at the sheet music, brows furrowed in concentration. Micah turned his chair around and waved for him to come in.

He opened and closed the door cautiously and greeted Micah as he sat down. Tiffani, on the other hand, was still oblivious to his presence, completely focused on her song.

“Don’t worry. She’s not listening.”

“How is she doing?”

Micah grimaced. “Hard to say. She changed the lyrics about three times in the past four hours. It wasn’t easy, but I got her not to burn the drafts. She’s currently spiraling about the harmony.”

Raleigh scowled. “Selling her song to the record label wasn’t a good call.”

“Didn’t she tell you? Ellis was pressing her to sell the rights of the song because she is taking too long to release her debut album. He threatened to break the contract,” Micah explained.

“Why am I not surprised…” Raleigh’s jaw clenched.

“Now she’s going mad trying to write a song like the one sold. I try to help as much as I can, but I don’t know… You’re her boyfriend. Maybe you can talk to her.”

“Is that why you called me? Dude, it’s not for real. My relationship with her is just a publicity stunt.”

“Is it though? I’ve seen you before with other fake girlfriends. You definitely don’t act the same way you did with them. You look more… at ease when Tiff is around. You both have a connection, you seem like you care about her and she really could use a little help.”

They looked at the singing booth and she is nowhere to be seen. They stood up and caught the sight of her sitting on the floor with both hands on each side of her head, looking down at the sheet.

“I don’t know…” Raleigh rubbed the back of his neck. “Did you try Avery or her friend, Shane?”

“They’re both busy. Come on, man. You can do it. I’ll give both some privacy if you want,” Micah suggested.

“Alright, maybe I can–”

“Great! Thank you!” Micah grinned, pressed a button and turned on the microphone to talk to Tiffani. “Tiff!”

“Yeah?” She stood up quickly.

“Look who decided to pay you a visit!” Micah clapped Raleigh’s shoulder, who quickly put his best stoic face.

“Oh…” Tiffani blushed, then smiled. “Hi, Raleigh!”

Raleigh waved to her, giving her his trademark smirk.

“I’m a bit hungry and I’m gonna take a break. You guys feel free to chat and go out, okay?” Micah said.

“Okay,” she grinned, watching Micah turn away and took a seat on the loveseat into the vocal booth with the sheet in her hands.

Raleigh cocked an eyebrow and turned the microphone on again. “Tiffani?”

“Yes?”

“You’re off the hook for at least one hour. What are you still doing in there?”

“Working on the song.”

“You can do that later. Let’s get out of here. We can grab a bite to eat, take a stroll in a park or something.”

“No, thanks. I still haven’t finished the song.”

“Come on, Tiffani. You can’t stay in there forever. You need to rest at some point. Take a break. Live a little.”

“I appreciate the concern, Raleigh, but I have a deadline. I’ll rest when I’m done with this.”

He shook his head. He has been around her enough to know she’s driven and no one could take her mind off of what she wanted. _Well, if you can’t beat them_ … “Do you mind if I join you in there?”

“Not at all. Come in.”

Raleigh opened the door to the vocal booth and sat next to her. “What are you working on?”

“A power ballad. There’s something missing on it, though. I can’t finish it, I’ve got no hook. Nothing. Just some verses and maybe a bridge,” she frowned.

“Can you show me what you’ve got so far?”

She reached for the guitar next to her and began to play a soulful melody. Her fingers strummed slowly on the strings as she sang, yet she seemed uneasy, her velvety voice was tremulous and wistful. He could feel goosebumps forming on his skin as she sang. After a couple of verses, she stopped. “That’s all I’ve got.”

Raleigh stood silent for a while, brows knitted together in deep thought.

Unsure of what to do, she broke the silence. “So… Is this very long pause a good or a bad sign? Because I don’t know what to do here and I really need to finish this album.”

He turned to her, looking into her eyes. “What you have there is incredible. You’re clearly onto something.”

“But I need to make it at least a three to four minutes song. I can’t add more interludes to the album.”

“Okay, let’s go back to the basics. The song key is G major, so you can build the harmony and the melody using G major scale. How about this?” he picked up an acoustic guitar from the wall and began to play, humming a little to find the right chords.

Tiffani played along, stopping occasionally to write down on the sheet. A while later, they had the harmony and melody of the song ready.

“You can change something later, see what fits better, depending on how you’ll continue the lyrics.”

“I don’t know if I should continue these lyrics.”

“Why not?”

Tiffani pressed her lips together and looked away.

“It’s about the song you sold, isn’t it?”

Her eyes widened.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to betray my fake girlfriend’s trust telling anyone about this,” he smirked.

A hint of a weak smile played on her lips, but she still avoided looking at him.

Raleigh tilted her chin up with one hand so he could stare into her eyes. “I meant it when I said you’re onto something here. This song can be great if you channel the right emotions into it. What are you feeling right now?”

“Hurt,” she uttered.

“What else?”

Her eyes glistened. “Resentment.”

“Good. Anything else?”

“Regret,” her bottom lip quivered.

He locked his arms around her as she cried against his chest. He kissed the top of her head and waited until she was calmer.

Tiffani craned her neck and kissed his cheek. “Thanks.”

“Nuh-uh,” he cupped her face, gently brushing his thumbs on her cheekbones. “You can thank me after you write that song and hit the top of the charts with it.”

By the end of the day, Tiffani had finished writing the song and recorded the vocals, piano and guitar parts of her newest song with Raleigh’s and Micah’s help. She got out of the studio holding hands with Raleigh and posed for the cameras before they climbed into the car.

“How are you feeling now?” Raleigh asked.

“Relieved,” she sighed. “I know you said I shouldn’t thank you yet, I want to. It was eating me up and you helped to get it off my chest. I can’t thank you enough,” she placed her hand on top of his.

“No worries. But you have to do one thing for me in return.”

“What is it?”

He turned to her, lacing his fingers with hers. “Don’t resent yourself for this anymore. You did what you had to do to keep the record deal. You just finished recording and your album will be launched soon. Let it go.”

“It won’t be that easy.”

“I never said it will be easy. But you can channel that anger every time you perform the song.”

She nodded. “I knew I have a lot to learn about the music industry, but I didn’t think I’d have to deal with all of this.”

“No one ever does. But that’s how things work in this world. You either learn how to play the game or they’ll eat you up alive.”

“That’s… harsh.”

“It’s a harsh world, Tiff,” he muttered, brushing his thumb in circles on the back of her hand.


End file.
